


Changing

by torestoreamends



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Malfoy Family, Malfoy Family Feels, Post-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 10:16:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12010635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torestoreamends/pseuds/torestoreamends
Summary: A couple of days after they get back from Godric’s Hollow, Scorpius walks in on his dad cutting his hair and is utterly horrified.





	Changing

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by Ed White’s rendition of Draco’s reaction to Ron’s: “I think you’ve got really nice hair Draco.” Utter horror, to the point where I expected him to go straight home and cut all his hair off. Thatwasdramatic told me to write a fic based on it, and I like bowing to peer pressure in cases like this, so here we are!

"Dad!"

Draco trims the last long blond strand from his head with a flick of his wand and looks up at Scorpius, who is standing in the doorway, transfixed with horror.

"Good morning, Scorpius."

"What have you done?" Scorpius gasps, taking a tiny step forward then stopping dead again. He wants to pick up one of the blond locks but he doesn't dare. He can't quite bring himself to believe that they're real.

"I've cut my hair," Draco says, tucking his wand into his belt. "It was time for a change. I was looking far too much like my father."

"But-" Scorpius shakes his head. He tries to look at his dad but he can't. He can't comprehend it. His dad's head, usually wreathed in intricate plaits, framed with straight, silky strands, impressive and beautiful all at once, is now- Well, not bare exactly, but comparatively so.

In his entire life, Scorpius has never seen his dad with short hair. He's seen old photos from when his dad was at Hogwarts. The short hair made him look all pinched and pointed and angular. It made him look a bit haughty and stuck up, and his dad isn't really like that anymore. Not most of the time. So seeing an adult Draco with that hair...

"Why?" He asks, because it's all he can think of.

His dad gives a tight smile. "Weasley," he says.

Scorpius sighs and runs a hand over his face in exasperation. "Is that an answer?"

"He said he liked it. So I decided to get rid of it."

Scorpius buries his face in his hands and closes his eyes. He takes a moment to compose himself then looks up at his dad. "You need to regrow it."

"No, I don't."

Scorpius nods. "Yes. You do. You look- Dad! You look weird! You look-" He catches sight of his own reflection in the window and his eyes widen in even deeper horror. "You look like me!" He rushes across the room and tries to grab his dad's wand. "Please! Put it all back. Please."

His dad takes hold of his wrist and pushes his hand gently away. "Scorpius. Really. I think you're overreacting."

"I'm overreacting?" Scorpius yells. "Dad, you cut your hair to spite Ron! Get some perspective."

Draco stares at him for a second, and Scorpius reels back. He doesn't think he's ever been so blunt with his dad before. Not in this world anyway. He's suddenly very afraid that he's going to be yelled at.

He opens his mouth to say sorry, to temper his words, but then his dad's face splits into a wide grin and he starts to laugh.

Scorpius stops dead, mouth open, staring at him, unsure what's going on.

"Um," he says. "I don't-"

"Scorpius," his dad says, and starts laughing harder. He puts a hand on the table to steady himself he's laughing so hard, and Scorpius just stands there, utterly confused, a little bit afraid that his dad has gone completely mad.

It takes a minute or two for Draco to compose himself, but when he does he takes a deep breath and steps forward across the kitchen. Scorpius dodges back an inch, but when his dad reaches him he just puts a hand on his shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"Scorpius," he says again.

"Dad?" Scorpius asks, glancing between the hand on his shoulder and his father's smiling face.

"You're right," his dad says. "As you usually are. It is ridiculously petty of me." He releases Scorpius's shoulder and draws his wand, but he doesn't direct it at his hair. He directs it towards the blond strands on the floor, scooping them up with a long sweep and dumping them in the bin in the corner. "But I really do think it's time for a change."

Scorpius looks at him. "Are you sure?" He asks doubtfully.

He's slowly getting used to it. Very slowly. The lack of anything to frame the sharp angles of his dad's face. He looks bony and thin – Scorpius reckons that Mum would have told him to eat more. But he also looks strangely younger this way. Like when he shed his hair, he also shed the weight of years. Scorpius has never realised before how bright his dad's eyes are.

"I think I like it," Draco says, reaching a hand up to run his hands over it. It's not very neat, a bit ruffled on top, sort of choppy. "I'll have to tidy it up a bit, and it'll take some getting used to, but... I didn't realise how heavy it all was."

Scorpius swallows. "I used to play with your hair. Mum did too. She liked it."

His dad drops his hand and runs his thumb over his wedding ring. "She did." He nods. "She did. And sometimes..." He turns away from Scorpius and goes to inspect that all the strands are cleared from the floor. "Sometimes that made it harder to get up in the morning." He goes very still for a moment, and Scorpius wants to go over and put a hand on his back or something, but before he gets chance, his dad turns to face him.

"That's not why I'm getting rid of it. Sometimes..." He gestures around himself and between the two of them. "Sometimes it's nice to have a change."

Scorpius hesitates, then nods. He thinks he understands. There are lots of things that have changed in the last couple of days, and most of them for the better. Change is a good thing. It hurts a bit, but sometimes the most important things in life aren't easy.

"You look younger, Dad," he says softly.

His dad smiles. "I'm certainly old enough for that to be a compliment."

"It is," Scorpius says.

He walks over to stand next to his dad, then he nudges his knuckles against his dad's wrist. "You really do look like me. Can you let it grow? Just a bit? We'll look more alike than Harry and Albus do. You don't have glasses or a scar to set us apart."

Draco grins and glances across at the window, where they're now reflected side by side, all angular and white blond. The same hair and noses and eyes. The same build. The only difference is their height, but Scorpius knows that's only a matter of time. His mum was tall too.

"I suppose you have a point." He glances down at Scorpius. "I might take pity on you."

"Please do," Scorpius says.

"But only once Weasley has seen me... Do you want to go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes this weekend?"

Scorpius groans and elbows his dad in the ribs. "You're ridiculous, Dad. Why are you like this?"

His dad shrugs. "I'm a Malfoy. We're all like this."

Scorpius sighs, because he knows it's true. "Fine. I suppose so." He looks at his dad for a moment, then he steps forward and hugs him hard around the middle.

His dad gives a soft, slightly confused laugh, but doesn't hesitate to hug back. "What's this for?"

Scorpius shrugs and pulls back. "I'm proud of you."

His dad smiles, a bit confused, but bright. "Any particular reason?"

Scorpius considers, then looks his dad in the eye and smiles. "For changing."

His dad's smile breaks wider across his face, and Scorpius finds himself consumed in a warm, tight hug.


End file.
